Mainframe Entertainment: Difference between revisions

Established by Gavin Blair and Ian Pearson, both English born, the company was founded with the intent of creating the first [[All CGI Cartoon|computer animated]] show, ''[[Re BootReBoot]]''. Prior to that, the two were known mostly for providing the computer animation for the rock band [[Dire Straits]] music video "Money For Nothing."

The production of ''[[Re BootReBoot]]'' was troublesome because the amount of money going into a project like this required an entire animation studio to be built. This meant that they needed to start with a full season or nothing. Unlike other animated shows where they produce a concept pilot to try and sell the series, the money for equipment and business space was much higher.

When ''[[Re BootReBoot]]'' became a hit, Mainframe became a hot item to produce [[Merchandise-Driven]] series, most notably reviving the struggling [[Transformers]] brand with ''[[Beast Wars (Animation)|Beast Wars]]''. ''[[Beast Wars (Animation)|Beast Wars]]'' was an even bigger hit because it came with built-in fanbase. The story quality, voice acting, and CGI were all top notch.

The animation of their early seasons appear to be primitive, especially considering [[Pixar]]'s groundbreaking work for ''[[Toy Story (franchise)|Toy Story]]'' at the same time. But it should be considered that they were still the first people to get it [[Ur Example|out in the open]].

''[[Re BootReBoot]]'' remained their favorite baby and they rejoiced when they were able to [[Uncanceled|continue]] the series in 2001. When the show ended again, this time it seemed for good because Gavin Blair and Ian Pearson left the company to pursue other projects.

Unfortunately, this was also one of the turning points when the company began to fall into trouble. The [[Merchandise-Driven]] shows fell into less competent hands and were not nearly as popular as ''[[Beast Wars (Animation)|Beast Wars]]''. They barely managed to stay afloat with Direct-To-Video franchises like the Barbie series, but it fell apart and in 2007, the company was bought out by Rainmaker Entertainment. They plan on keeping the Mainframe studio to use for entirely animated productions, including a highly possible revival of ''[[Re BootReBoot]]'', while Rainmaker itself is known for doing special effects for [[Live Action TV]].

* ''[[Re BootReBoot]]''

* ''[[Beast Wars (Animation)|Beast Wars]]'' and ''[[Beast Machines (Animation)|Beast Machines]]''

* The MTV ''[[Spider -Man]]'' series

* ''[[Stargate SG -1]]''

* ''[[Jack Frost (1998 (Filmfilm)|Jack Frost 1998]]'' (the Family film, not the killer snowman film)

* ''[[Mr. Magoo (Animation)|Mr. Magoo]]'' ([[Live Action Adaptation]])

* ''[[Millennium (TV series)|Millennium]]''

* ''[[Three Thousand3000 Miles to Graceland (Film)|Three Thousand Miles to Graceland]]''

* ''[[Ballistic: Ecks vs. Sever]]''

* ''[[DragonballDragon Ball]]'' (1995 dub)

* ''[[Godzilla (Filmfilm)|Godzilla]]''

* ''[[Da VincisVinci's Inquest]]''

* ''[[Ballistic: Ecks vs. Sever]]''

* [[Conspicuous CG]] - An odd example in ''[[Beast Wars (Animation)|Beast Wars]]''; despite it being a fully CG cartoon.

* [[Doing It for Thethe Art]] - Early on, even the [[Merchandise-Driven]] shows like ''[[Beast Wars (Animation)|Beast Wars]]'' and ''[[War Planets]]'' were well plotted and well received. ''[[Action Man]]'' ended up becoming an adversion, although the recent{{when}} Reboot revival shows promise.

* [[Hey, It's That Voice!]] - [[The Ocean Group]] worked on many of their series (ex: Matrix from ''[[Re BootReBoot]]'' and Graveheart from ''[[War Planets]]'' were both voice by [[Paul Dobson]]).

* [[Spiritual Successor]] - ''[[Storm Hawks (Animation)|Storm Hawks]]'' isn't produced by Mainframe, but has some of the same talent working on it.

* [[Talking to Himself]] - Most shows. [[Scott McNeil]] voiced no less then four characters alone on ''[[Beast Wars (Animation)|Beast Wars]].''

[[Category:ProducersProduction Companies]]

[[Category:Mainframe Entertainment{{PAGENAME}}]]